ABSTRACT
This study presents the experience of using Arduino and the platform Tinkercard for developing programming competencies in first-year students at the Continental University of Huancayo (Peru). The study is conducted online during the COVID-19 pandemic by using a simulator. The development of programming competencies is a fundamental and essential milestone for students enrolled in systems engineering, information science, computer science, and informatics degrees. For students, it is challenging to work with programming languages that require compliance with complex syntactic and semantic rules. The results show and demonstrate a positive impact on the development of students' skills when compared to previous courses. Development of basic skills is observed on digital circuits and computational electronics. It is concluded that students are highly comfortable with Arduino and Tinkercard, even though, due to the pandemic, the experiments are not performed physically. © 2021,Formacion Universitaria. All Rights Reserved.